Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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I have received notice from Senator Averil Power that, on the motion for the Adjournment of the House today, she proposes to raise the following matter:

To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if any progress has been made on the commitment he gave to the Seanad on 2 May 2012 to bring forward early in the new year amendments to section 37 of the Employment Equality Act 1998.

To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality to outline the reasoning behind the renovation of Harristown House at Castlerea Prison and if so-called "lifers" are to be its sole occupants.

I have also received notice from Senator Lorraine Higgins of the following matter:

To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to intervene with the National Transport Authority to save bus route 418 which is being discontinued between Athenry and Galway via Derrydonnell and Oranmore, County Galway.

The need for the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs to discuss the impact of cuts to youth services provision, given the rising levels of child poverty in the State.

Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)
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The Order of Business is No. 1, address to Seanad Éireann by Ms Emer Costello, MEP, to be taken on the conclusion of the Order of Business in accordance with arrangements set out in the motion passed by the House on 27 February 2013.

Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)
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Last week, I raised the issue of the business of the House. At that time, the Leader assured us that administrative and technical issues relating to the passage of legislation through the Dáil had resulted in the lack of legislation going through this House, particularly on Thursdays. We are now faced, yet again, with a Thursday which is somewhat light in this respect. I do not want to blame the Leader personally in this regard because we all know from experience the difficulty in getting Departments to pass on legislation here. However, I do not believe it is in the best interests of this House that we should be sitting on a Thursday morning and that we have only got a visit, distinguished as it may be. I would be grateful if the Leader could outline what his plans are and what efforts he is making to ensure that we have a much more robust legislative model in this House on sitting days.

It would be churlish of me not to acknowledge that there has been, at long last, a glimmer of hope on the jobs front. The most recent figures announced in the last 24 hours indicate that the rate of unemployment is slowing but, more importantly, that the rate of employment has increased. An extra 1,200 have been added to the workforce. It would be opportune if the Leader were to arrange for the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Bruton, to attend the House to flesh out much of what was announced in the most recent jobs plan. I think this is the fifth variant of the jobs plan.

I am focusing in particular on the proposal that 2,000 graduates would find work in that context. The evidence suggests that the vast majority of those out of work are unskilled. The Government has introduced a variety of different measures to bring people back into further education and retraining. However, the evidence is that many multinationals are not employing graduates from our third-level colleges; they are looking for experience. In the last day or two, there have been public pronouncements to the effect that there are plenty of jobs available in the IT and high-technology sectors but that applicants need to have three, four or five years' experience. I do not believe this jobs plan will address the real issue of new graduates whose education has been financed by the State yet who must emigrate because they cannot get jobs.

I also wish to raise the issue of hydraulic fracturing. A group called Love Leitrim, which is an umbrella group of anti-fracking community organisations, is due to attend Leinster House today. They are totally opposed to the whole concept of hydraulic fracturing or fracking as it is called, which is the extraction of shale gas by a method using chemicals and water under high pressure. I ask the Leader to arrange for the relevant line Minister, Deputy Rabbitte, to attend the House for a debate on fracking. I am not critical of what the Minister is doing; I believe he is doing the right thing. He has asked the Environmental Protection Agency to engage in an exhaustive study of the environmental impact and other aspects of fracking, particularly in my own part of the country and in County Clare. The Minister, Deputy Rabbitte, should attend this House to reassure us that he will not give exploration licences to those who have applied for them. Today is the closing date for such applications, which is the relevance of the group coming up from Leitrim today. The Minister should outline the Government's proposals on fracking. He should also reiterate that he will not take any action in this regard, or provide any licences, unless or until there is conclusive proof that there will be no adverse environmental impact on the land proposed to be explored. In that context, it would be timely if the Minister were to attend the House so he could also provide a wider view of Government energy policy.

Ivana Bacik (Independent)
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I also welcome the rise in employment figures that were announced yesterday. They are reported on the front page of The Irish Times today. This provides a hopeful sign that the numbers at work have risen over the last six months. This marks the first time since the start of the recession that we have seen jobs growth over two consecutive quarters. It is welcome to see such jobs growth being specifically recorded in particular sectors. It is right to acknowledge that good news and I thank Senator Mooney for acknowledging it also. It is an important sign of recovery.

I also welcome the clarity provided by the Government yesterday that the ¤10 million allocated for the mobility allowance and mobilised transport grant scheme would be ring-fenced for a new scheme that would be legally compliant. The Government is committed to devising that new scheme over the next four months which is welcome news.

Earlier this week, I sought a debate on Syria. Last night, the UN humanitarian aid co-ordinator said the whole of northern Syria is now a no-go zone for humanitarian aid. The crisis is deepening for civilians in the area, which is largely opposition-controlled but is subject to horrendous attacks by government forces also. We should have a debate on that in early course to see how best Ireland can seek to intervene, particularly through the EU to try to support a peace process there. That is clearly the only way to resolve the humanitarian crisis, since the UN and other agencies simply cannot get in there.

I welcome the fact that we will have Emer Costello, MEP, with us this morning. I look forward to her speech. Among the issues we will address with her is the outcome of the election in Italy, which will clearly have repercussions for European economies generally and ours in particular.

Sean Barrett (Independent)
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The importance of the Seanad in scrutinising and initiating legislation has been shown vividly in recent times. The personal insolvency legislation was amended 181 times on Committee Stage and 155 times on Report Stage in this House, as the Minister, Deputy Shatter, engaged with Members. Yesterday, we reached 64 amendments on the Taxi Regulation Bill. It was remarkable that on a number of occasions the Minister of State did not move his own amendments because he was listening to what the House was saying. That is important for the role of the second Chamber. We also have Senator Colm Burke's important work on uninsured doctors practising medicine, and Senator Crown's work on the danger to children of adults smoking in cars. We need to initiate legislation as well as scrutinising Government legislation.

Two senior civil servants recently wrote that "Officials should be encouraged to act as effective devil's advocates and this role should be positively reflected in the performance reviews". That does not tend to happen, however. The importance of a second Chamber, to have this scrutiny where the Government has a very large Dáil majority, has been illustrated.

There is one area for improvement and I ask the Leader to take it up with the Minister of State, Deputy Paul Kehoe, who brings the legislative programme to the House. We need a higher standard of regulatory impact assessments. Sometimes, they do not appear at all, while sometimes they are posted on Department websites but are not furnished to Members. When they are put on the websites, many of them are inadequate. Perhaps, therefore, the Leader could ask the Minister of State to attend the House to say what he requires for regulatory impact assessments to assist us in that vital role of the second House.

In the Irish Independent today, Professor Anton Murphy states that proper screening of credit requires educated and well-informed bankers who know the broad potential of different areas of the economy. As we have seen, many had very limited mindsets. I ask the Leader to arrange for the need to improve the standard of auditing and accounting as we try to get the economy back to the job creation era, which Senators Bacik and Mooney have just mentioned. We need to reform banking. There seem to be banking people who did about ten minutes work and then played golf with builders all day. They did serious damage to this country. I ask the Leader to arrange for the Minister for Finance to attend the House to say what he thinks banks should do, bearing in mind the entirely credible criticisms of bankers and their education by Professor Murphy.

Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)
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Last Thursday, we had an excellent public consultation session here on social enterprise.

I compliment the Seanad on bringing a raft of new people to the Chamber - One Foundation, Social Entrepreneurs Ireland and Ashoka Ireland. They are change makers by nature. It is phenomenal that 28 Senators were present for the entire three-hour session. The organisations suggested wonderful solutions for the social good. Their ideas are proven. CoderDojo was represented by a young man of 20 years of age. Senator Mullins asked him about how he made a living. Many of the people in question rely completely on social enterprise funding. Their ideas will change society forever if they are supported.

Senator Mooney called on the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Bruton, to attend the House. The Minister should debate with us the benefits of supporting social enterprise and seeing it as mainstream enterprise. It is for the social good and the population gains. We could ask the Minister to introduce legislation on crowd funding so that we might have a reliable means of funding projects.

The increase in the number of people returning to work is good news. Momentum Skills runs a 16-week placement programme along the lines referred to by Senator Mooney, involving four weeks of training and 12 weeks of work placement in the medical secretarial field, business process improvement, warehousing and logistics, etc. People need to be up to date in these fields if they are to have a competitive edge.

Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)
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Those people are simply not being employed.

Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)
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I compliment the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, on brokering a cap on bankers' bonuses across Ireland and the rest of the EU. Let us give him a big bualadh bos. It is time to do so.

Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail)
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They were already illegal in Ireland. We banned them.

Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)
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Yes, but we led on the issue.

Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail)
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The Minister is following the last Government's lead.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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A Fianna Fáil councillor, Mr. Paschal Fitzmaurice, has brought to my attention the situation of Harristown House in Castlerea, which is being used as a detention-----

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Senator Kelly will discuss this matter on the Adjournment. I am sure that he will share time with Senator Leyden.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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It is an interesting situation, as it appears the Minister is not informing the local Senator. The people of Castlerea have not been consulted. They are concerned-----

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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This matter will be raised on the Adjournment.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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Can I bet the Cathaoirleach ¤5 that the Minister will not attend this evening?

David Norris (Independent)
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That is not very generous. Why not make it ¤1,000?

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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No, it will be ¤5.

David Norris (Independent)
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Is the Senator not sure of himself?

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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A Minister will attend.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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I am referring to the Minister for Justice and Equality.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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He is responsible, but a Minister will attend.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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He will not attend the House. He would not attend last-----

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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If Senator Leyden needs time, I am sure that Senator Kelly will share some of his.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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Maybe he will, but I am not sure.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Does Senator Leyden wish to raise another issue?

David Norris (Independent)
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Senator Kelly's debate will not-----

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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The people of Castlerea-----

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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The Senator must be fair to Members who have gone to the bother of tabling matters on the Adjournment.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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My point is that Government Members should be consulted by Ministers. That is how Fianna Fáil did it. We had direct contact with Ministers.

David Norris (Independent)
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We hope they will not do it the way Fianna Fáil did it.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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We did not need to hear news second hand. Councillor Fitzmaurice is leading the issue in Castlerea. He is well informed and knows what is occurring. He has organised a public meeting tonight in Tully's Hotel in Castlerea.

Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)
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Senator Leyden is still going through the motions.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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I hope that as many people as possible can attend.

David Norris (Independent)
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We will all be there.

John Kelly (Labour)
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I thank Senator Leyden for pre-empting my Adjournment debate. His comments had some merit in terms of-----

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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This matter will be discussed on the Adjournment.

John Kelly (Labour)
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-----Private Member's business and Adjournment debates and the attendance of the relevant Minister at same. Fianna Fáil's Private Member's motion yesterday had been well flagged. Either the relevant Minister should have been present or he should have selected another time that suited him. He should have taken the debate.

The same applies in the case of Adjournment debates. One could raise a serious health matter, yet the Minister of State with responsibility for small business might take it, reading out a script that was prepared for him and with no idea about what it contained. I would prefer it if the relevant Minister told the Senator in question that he or she could take the debate in three or four days time.

What has happened is not good enough. Perhaps it is the House's lifelong practice, but we should consider how we do our business. I call on the Leader to do so.

David Norris (Independent)
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Yesterday, a Member stated as a fact that the offices of Youth Defence had been attacked by what he called pro-abortion lobbyists. I wish to inform the House that there is no substance whatsoever in that statement. I took the trouble to contact the police when I heard of the attack. When I spoke to the inspector in charge at the Bridewell, he informed me that there had been an unpleasant attack, in that animal manure had been smeared on the door and that posters of some kind had been placed. When I asked him whether the Garda had suspects, he replied that it had no idea whatsoever. It was quite wrong to try to use that attack for political or ideological advantage. It may well be that ill-advised people carried out this obnoxious attack, and I condemn it, but until we find out who did it, it is unwise and irresponsible of Senators to make accusations simply because they do not agree with people who are not pro-abortion, but pro-choice. Those ill-advised people are most certainly not pro-life.

I congratulate Senator Barrett on his comments. He was quite right. We should sing our praises a bit more in Seanad Éireann. Senator Healy Eames made a good point about the consultations. Often, the public does not know how valuable the Seanad is. For example, Senator Barrett and others stayed in the Chamber for a long time to discuss amendments to the Taxi Regulation Bill 2012 and appeared to reach agreement. We have changed legislation, as we always do. This is our function, but it is not recognised and is never reported in the press. The only matter that is ever reported, be it on television or radio or in the print media, is the Order of Business, which is why so many people grandstand at that time, including myself.

Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)
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Senator Norris got in there before me.

David Norris (Independent)
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Something wonderful that I have never witnessed in my 25 years in Seanad Éireann has happened, in that Members from the Government side, which is unusual, from Fianna Fáil, from all of the parties and individuals have presented legislation this session. The Government should co-operate with the House more. During the debate on the important legislation produced by Senator Burke, a Government Member, concerning the insurance of the medical profession, it was perfectly clear that the Government could have accepted and amended the Bill. I made this point clearly during the discussion. The Minister in charge of the matter was present, but he did not do it. Many people discussed the issue during the following days and wondered why the Government did not accept Bills that could be amended. I have been present for one Bill that saw more than 200 Government amendments. If the Government can amend its Bills, why can we not be provided with the same facility?

I am doing what I can. We held a good and important debate on fluoride, a matter of national interest, irrespective of one's position. The debate was ignored by everyone. I noticed that an article on the subject in Hot Press neglected the Seanad completely. I wrote a fairly mild letter that I am glad to tell the House was the magazine's letter of the month, although I will not take any great pride in that. The editor wrote a note in which he agreed that the Seanad had not been given the credit and that the attempts to abolish it were a mistake.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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We are voices crying in the wilderness.

David Norris (Independent)
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It is a comfortable wilderness.

Michael Comiskey (Fine Gael)
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I join colleagues in welcoming the good news on the jobs front. More can and will be done as we enter spring. This will be a better year on the jobs front. In recent years, a number of local authority staff have retired and not been replaced. This is an opportunity for schemes similar to those run previously, for example, FÁS-type schemes. As my colleague, Senator Mooney, mentioned, most of the people in question are unskilled.

It would be a great opportunity for councils to take on more staff through a scheme like that. Work needs to be done and there is much of it out there.

We have all been contacted by Love Leitrim, a group coming to Dublin today which is concerned about fracking. I assure the group and everybody else, as I have been assured, that no fracking will take place until the Environmental Protection Agency report is published and the practice is found to be safe. Nobody wants to see damage done and I assure everybody that fracking will not happen until it is found to be absolutely safe; if it is not safe, it will not be used.

David Cullinane (Sinn Fein)
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I agree with Senator Mooney, who referred to the business of the House today. I am sure the Leader agrees that many calls have been made by Senators on all sides of the House for very important debates on a range of issues, including the jobs crisis, youth unemployment, poverty and, in more recent days, the mobility grant that was abolished. We have called for the appropriate Minister to come here to discuss a replacement scheme. It is important that this House gets the co-operation of Ministers, who should participate in debates. I am concerned that over the past number of weeks, the agenda of the House has been quite light, despite the fact that many calls have been made by Senators on all sides for Ministers to come to the Seanad to discuss important issues.

If the Minister of State with responsibility for the mobility grant is considering a new scheme, she should come to the House to discuss the matter with Members, who have been lobbied very strongly by people directly affected by the grant's abolition or those who would have been waiting for their applications to be processed. We should have an opportunity to feed into the process and I hope the appropriate Minister will come to the House. It is an important issue and I hope that whatever scheme replaces the mobility grant will be fair, broad and equitable. It must ensure that people with disabilities and mobility problems who need support in transport should get it. If there is a cost to the State, meaning we must raise taxes on higher earners, it should be done. That is what society is about and what our Government should do. It must vindicate the rights of citizens, especially people with disabilities. There have been calls over a number of days for the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, to come to the House in the next number of weeks in order to discuss the important issue of supports for people with disabilities and mobility problems.

Aideen Hayden (Labour)
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Of all the Ministers and Ministers of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, has been one who is willing to come here at the drop of a hat. She should be given due credit for that.

Ivana Bacik (Independent)
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Hear, hear.

Aideen Hayden (Labour)
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I have no doubt that she will be more than happy to come here to discuss the mobility allowance. The deal on banker bonuses has been mentioned by a number of Senators and I also congratulate this European Presidency on the progress made in the overall banking agenda. It is nevertheless important to remember that we are talking about limiting bank bonuses to one year of salary or, in some cases, two years of salary. It is hardly a case of bringing the rate to 10% or 15%, which many people might get as a Christmas bonus or a few bob as a means of saying "well done". We must put the issue in perspective.

It is amazing that we are discussing the bonuses of people who were incentivised to go out and destroy the banking system of the European Union, selling bogus products to people who trusted them. There are a number of issues that we, as a House, should be discussing with regard to the banking sector. I again ask the Leader to bring in the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, specifically to discuss banking. We should also discuss the mortgage arrears crisis and recent statistics from the Credit Review Office indicating that Irish people are not able to access credit and are not in a position to complain, as they are in many cases limited to two or three banks; if they live in a rural area, they may be limited to one bank. We must have a serious debate in the House about the banking sector and the only person with whom to have the debate is the Minister with responsibility, Deputy Michael Noonan.

Mary Ann O'Brien (Independent)
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On numerous occasions, including on the Order of Business or during debates with Ministers with responsibility for public sector reform, I have raised my concerns and fears about the slow pace of reform of practices within the sector. One debate springs to mind with the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, on the subject of the Croke Park agreement. We discussed differing views on whether it is possible to micro-manage an organisation as large as the public sector. Independent observers tell me that on the day, it was a score draw, but I am magnanimous, so I will give it to the Minister of State, although only by a whisker.

Being serious again, I often compare the pace of reform to what has happened in all forms of the private sector as it swiftly adjusted to the new economic backdrop in which it found itself working. I felt passionately for some months that the Government needed to take a much tougher approach with many of the public service unions, as ultimately it is - by the people's choosing - to manage the State's public finances and services.

The recent Labour Relations Commission negotiations, which concluded earlier this week, have brought about long overdue and much-needed reforms. I appreciate that these are still only proposals and have not been endorsed by public sector workers but the Government should be loosely congratulated for making serious strides to save ¤1 billion from the public service pay bill. This morning, I call on public service workers to consider the country's financial position - we are broke - before deciding to accept or reject these proposals. It is worth noting that Ireland still has a large deficit between revenue collected and public expenditures, and when I last checked, it was still the highest in the eurozone.

However, it is not all applause for the Government this morning, and I am sure all Senators have reservations, as I do, about increment freezes or delayed payments being applied to relatively low-paid public servants. I would have liked to have seen the thresholds for the freeze being placed higher than what is proposed. In the coming months, there may be a need to revisit the issue and I look forward to engaging with the Government when these matters come before us in the Seanad.

I regret the Government's decision yesterday to remove the mobility allowance and I second Senator Cullinane in a sincere hope that the Government has a clear strategy to take care of these people in future. The Government seems to be making an unfortunate habit of targeting the most vulnerable in our society. We were in here before Christmas discussing the respite grant, and the Seanad almost voted for a change in that respect.

Senator Hayden mentioned banks and I agree with her comments regarding the size of bonuses. Will the Minister for Finance come here to discuss, as we do in the private sector, setting the key performance indicators for banks that should be in the public interest? These must work in the interest of the Irish citizens and taxpayers, and if the bank performs in our interest, it could then award bonuses. It should not lie alone with profitability for shareholders. We are the shareholders.

Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail)
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Banker bonuses in this country were effectively outlawed with the IMF agreement, with a 90% tax introduced with one of the last legislative acts of a former Minister, the late Mr. Brian Lenihan.

I call for a debate on the state of rural roads in Ireland. I was at a meeting last night in Kells, County Meath, where hundreds of people attended to express considerable anger about how the roads in north Meath, in particular, have collapsed. This is especially evident with third class roads but it is also worryingly evident with regional roads, which are the main routes through the county. The same problem can be seen in areas around Navan and east Meath. There is much anger. In an interview with The Irish Times last December or November, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Varadkar, indicated that he had cut ¤400 million from the road budget and nobody had noticed. It is fair to say that the people in north Meath have noticed their roads deteriorating.

We are constantly told about the IMF and how we are tied down in what we can spend by the agreement. The Government is spending less on capital spending than was projected in the agreement, which is a shame. Jobs are being reduced and roads around the country, particularly in north, east and central Meath, are collapsing. People are really upset and financially out of pocket, as in a number of cases people had to replace cars because of the problem. They may be driving up a lane with a 24 inch pothole full of water.

Perhaps the pothole has just appeared or perhaps it cannot be seen because of the darkness or the water. A debate on capital spending is needed because the Government has reduced the allocation below what was agreed in the agreement with the troika. The Government has other priorities but, in the meantime, roads will collapse. The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport must be informed that the people have noticed his cutbacks to the roads budget.

Michael Mullins (Fine Gael)
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Like my colleagues, I welcome the good news on the jobs front in recent days. I hope these are positive green shoots that will grow significantly during the coming year. The number of people at work is 1.85 million, which is an increase of 6,500 in recent months. It proves the Action Plan on Jobs is beginning to pay dividends. I would like the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation to come to the House to discuss how we can accelerate the 333 actions in the plan. I agree with Senator Healy Eames that social entrepreneurship should be very much part of that discussion because there is significant potential in this area to increase job numbers. I am pleased that potentially 1,000 jobs could be created in my own county of Galway in the coming months following yesterday's news that a significant infrastructural project - the N17-N18 Gort to Tuam motorway - is likely to proceed. The Government has come up with the seed capital that will enable a public private partnership to be put in place and the good news is the road will not be tolled. This could create 1,000 jobs during construction in an area that has been devastated by emigration. This is badly needed good news.

The other good news is the positive start to the The Gathering year. The tourism figures for the end of 2012 and the beginning of this year have increased by 4.4% across all sectors. That has the potential to create much-needed employment and I hope the measures in the Action Plan for Jobs to incentivise employers to take on employees will be availed of in the hospitality sector. We need to build on these positive indicators to ensure the green shoots grow significantly over the next year or two.

Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail)
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I join Senator Brennan, who raised the issue on yesterday's Order of Business, in commending the leadership of the trade union movement for the manner in which they have engaged with the Government in recent days on the new pay deal, which is a difficult deal for everybody. The leadership, including Jack O'Connor and David Begg, are like us, as they have a constituency to nurture and service. They have shown great courage over the past number of years and when we finally emerge from the recession, the positive role played by the trade union movement will be recognised.

I join Senator Mullins in welcoming the good news on tourism, which is a great lift at a time such as this. The 4% increase in numbers during the winter months augurs well for The Gathering. Perhaps it was inspired by this event, despite all the naysayers. It will be a plus for us but the worry is that the increase was primarily be generated in the US, Australian and New Zealand markets whereas the UK market, which is critical to tourism in Kerry and all over the country, remains a big ask, although numbers increased marginally by 0.6%. However, all this is positive and I commend everyone involved, especially Mr. Niall Gibbons, the chief executive officer of Tourism Ireland, for the part they are playing.

On a number of occasions I have raised the issue of equine maltreatment. Apart from the horse meat scandal, I have raised many times the way in which horses are abused and mistreated around the country. Valerie Cox did an excellent report on "Today with Pat Kenny" last Tuesday morning. It is appalling that horses bought in the Smithfield market for as little as ¤20 are ridden into the ground on concrete pavements and made to jump insurmountable objects on housing estates and so on. They are eventually left on the side of the road. Wonderful work is done by the equine treatment centre in Mallow, County Cork, and by other centres. I acknowledge the hands of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine are full dealing with the horse meat issue but this is also an important issue. Anyone who loves animals does not want to see them in distress.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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The Senator is galloping out of time.

Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach. I have raised this issue previously and the Minister will have to seriously address it.

Colm Burke (Fine Gael)
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I have come from a conference entitled, Rare Disorders with Borders, which is dealing with the issue of rare diseases. Today is International Rare Disease Day. This is an important issue because of the lack of support for those with rare diseases. There may only by three or four people in the country who suffer from a particular rare disease and there is a need for more co-ordination between EU member states. One of the themes of the conference was co-ordination between Northern Ireland and the Republic on this issue. The cross-border health care directive came into being on 9 March 2011. The Government has 30 months in which to implement it but we now have less than six months to do so. When will the Minister for Health make a decision on the implementation of the directive, which will allow those who are not entitled to care in this State or who are subject to undue delay the right to travel to another member state for the necessary care? Will the Leader seek a response from the Minister on this important issue? It is also important in the context of the provision of care and support for families in which a member is affected by a rare disease. I seek a response from the Department on that matter.

Labhrás Ó Murchú (Fianna Fail)
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I support the comments of Senators O'Sullivan and Mullins regarding the good news for the first two months of the year in the tourism sector arising, I presume, from the good work done by The Gathering. It augurs well for the rest of the year. The importance of the tourism industry is that the benefits are spread to almost every part of the island and they are not confined to centralised areas. Even people living in a townland can benefit from the spin off from tourism.

Everyone is pleased with President Obama's suggestion regarding a transatlantic trade and investment partnership. It makes sense that two large trading blocs such as the EU and US work together. It is important in this regard that Ireland enjoys a good status not only in Europe but also in the US and this will be evident on St. Patrick's Day when An Taoiseach will travel to the White House because this year he is also the President of Europe as he meets the President of the United States. We should not underestimate the importance of that because as we all wrack our brains on how to create employment, we do not always come up with substantial results but we have a good foundation in the tourism industry. If we remain competitive, we have something distinctive to us and, therefore, attractive.

I salute the young woman who went on television last night. She was exceptionally incapacitated but she appeared on the programme to make a case for those who will be deprived of even restricted mobility into the future. I have often found that people who are incapacitated inspire us most because we realise the courage required by them. Any spokesperson, political or otherwise, could not have done what that wonderful, courageous woman did last night. It makes the emotion rise within people.

Emotion and policies do not always coalesce but this is one particular case that we should not take off the radar. It is vital, even if it is a matter of bringing forward the new plans. Why does it have to take two, three or four months? We need to do something urgently to give those people who are already challenged in life, and have responded so well, a morale boost, not in three or four months time but in the coming weeks.

Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)
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Senator Paschal Mooney, the acting Leader of the Opposition, raised the issue of the ordering of business. As I stated last week, we have had two to three pieces of legislation each week since January and we have some this week. If Members wish, I can, if there are situations such as today where we have only piece of business on a Thursday, confine our business to two days a week rather than three. Looking at next week's business, we have three pieces of legislation, the Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Dáil Bill 2012, the Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Bill 2013 and the Education and Training Boards Bill 2012. I understand Private Members' business will be another piece of legislation, therefore four pieces of legislation have been listed.

I stated at the beginning of the year that we have the Presidency of the European Union for six months and, as such, it is more difficult to have Ministers come to the House as they have other business in the European Union, for which we laud them. We have witnessed the benefits already in regard to banking and other areas in recent months. I ask Members to bear with us. It is clear from the agenda for recent weeks that we have had most of the senior Ministers in the House dealing with some item or another. What Senator Mooney stated last week and has returned to this week has been exaggerated. Certainly, if we have only one item of business on a Thursday, I will consider condensing that into a Tuesday or Wednesday in future, if that is the wish of the House.

Senator Mooney and many other Members welcomed the improvement in job statistics for the first few months of the year. We all welcome that. It will be the sign that the economy is picking up when we see more people in employment. The Government accepts that it is only a beginning and there is a long way to go. Let us hope there will be further improvement as the year progresses.

Senator Michael Comiskey raised the issue of fracking. I understand that nothing will be decided until the EPA report is published. The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Pat Rabbitte, came before the House to speak on that subject last year. I understand the Minister of State, Fergus O'Dowd, is now dealing with the issue. When the EPA report is published, or even before that, we might have another debate on the matter.

Senator Ivana Bacik welcomed the job figures. In regard to the mobility allowance, which has been raised, I gave a fairly comprehensive reply yesterday on that matter. I wish to indicate again that the ¤10.6 million in funding has been ring-fenced for these allowances. The Senator also called for a debate on Syria. I will try to have one of the Ministers from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade come to the House and debate the issue.

Senator Sean D. Barrett raised the issue of the role of the House in scrutinising legislation. I think we have done a very good job in that regard and better, I suggest, than the other House, but I would say that in many instances. As Senator David Norris said, it is something we have to live with. We are not getting the credit - not that we want it - but we are doing our jobs, for which we are being paid well. We are doing our jobs quite well in scrutinising legislation and bringing other matters of interest to the House, often before they are brought to the attention of the other House. That is a matter for another day. If we continue to act as we are doing in this House, when the people are deciding on whether the Seanad should continue we can give them good reason for retaining it, but that is a matter for another day.

Senator Fidelma Healy Eames called for a debate on the benefits of supporting social enterprise and legislation on crowd-funding and complimented last week's public consultation committee. It was enlightening to have that debate last week. A number of members have commented positively on the debate and said the presentations were wonderful. Some 28 members were present, but on and off there were very few, and Senators were in and out during that debate. That is welcome. I will find out from the Minister when legislation will be introduced on crowd-funding.

We will allow Senator Terry Leyden and Senator John Kellyto fight out the situation in regard to Harristown House.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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The word "fight" may be inappropriate.

Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)
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They can debate that-----

Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)
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Shared experience.

Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)
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They can share information on that this evening.

Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)
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We might end up in Harristown.

Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)
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Senator John Kelly also raised the issue of Adjournment matters and having Ministers come before the House. Perhaps we can raise that matter at the Committee on Procedure and Privileges but at least we get a response to Adjournment matters that Members can take back to their constituents or whoever raised the matter with them.
Senator David Norris clarified the situation in regard to the vandalism of a property which all Members condemned yesterday. I am sure the Senator, like all of us, would hope the Garda will bring the perpetrators to justice as we would at all times.

As Senator Aideen Hayden has mentioned, the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, has been in the House more often than any other Minister. She is always welcome to the House and I am sure she will come soon again to debate the mobility allowance. A committee has been set up to report back within three months on the issue. The Senator also called for a debate on banking. We had a specific debate on 3 July 2012 with the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, on banking, the economy and mortgage arrears, but we can ask him to come again for a debate on the same subjects fairly soon.

Senator Mary Ann O'Brien raised the LRC proposals which we discussed yesterday. There is a need to give the unions time and space to make their decision. I note her point on the mobility allowance which we discussed yesterday.

Senator Thomas Byrne raised the question of rural roads which was raised by his colleague, Senator Paschal Mooney, yesterday. I agree there is a need for more funding for the repair of regional and country roads. They are deteriorating. I can see it in my constituency and throughout the country.

Senator Michael Mullins welcomed the fact that the Gort-Tuam road, the N17 and N18, is about to get permission to go ahead and that it will provide 1,000 construction jobs. That is welcome. I note his points and those of Senator Ned O'Sullivan and Senator Labhrás Ó Murchú in respect of tourism, the numbers for which have increased in the first few months of the year. That is another good news story. Tourism is important for jobs and communities throughout the length and breadth of the country. Let us hope in this year of The Gathering that there will be improved figures where tourism is concerned.
I note also Senator O'Sullivan's point in regard to equine maltreatment. I understand the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine is appearing before the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine this morning to deal with that specific subject. I share the Senator's concerns in that regard.
Senator Colm Burke raised the issue of rare diseases and called for cross-Border health co-operation and asked the position especially on rare diseases. We will try to get that information from the Minister.
Senator Labhrás Ó Murchú asked about tourism and the transatlantic trade development. I can assure him the Taoiseach will be selling the Irish tourism product when in the United States for his meeting with President Obama on St. Patrick's Day.

Sean Barrett (Independent)
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I referred to the issue of regulatory impact assessments on legislation before it reaches the House. Could the Leader attend to that issue?

Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)
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We will try and deal with that issue as well.